Sequences with divisibility
A sequence is such that $a_o =1, a_1= 1, a_{n+1}
=a_{n}a_{n-1}+1$ so we have to comment on divisibilty of $a_{2007} $ by 4.
I found out first few values in sequence as
1,1,2,3,7,22, .... which told me that only $a_{3n} $ is even.
But can there be some other elaborative method?
sequences-and-series
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A sequence is such that $a_o =1, a_1= 1, a_{n+1}
=a_{n}a_{n-1}+1$ so we have to comment on divisibilty of $a_{2007} $ by 4.
I found out first few values in sequence as
1,1,2,3,7,22, .... which told me that only $a_{3n} $ is even.
But can there be some other elaborative method?
sequences-and-series
add a comment |
A sequence is such that $a_o =1, a_1= 1, a_{n+1}
=a_{n}a_{n-1}+1$ so we have to comment on divisibilty of $a_{2007} $ by 4.
I found out first few values in sequence as
1,1,2,3,7,22, .... which told me that only $a_{3n} $ is even.
But can there be some other elaborative method?
sequences-and-series
A sequence is such that $a_o =1, a_1= 1, a_{n+1}
=a_{n}a_{n-1}+1$ so we have to comment on divisibilty of $a_{2007} $ by 4.
I found out first few values in sequence as
1,1,2,3,7,22, .... which told me that only $a_{3n} $ is even.
But can there be some other elaborative method?
sequences-and-series
sequences-and-series
edited Dec 26 '18 at 17:51
Bernard
118k639112
118k639112
asked Dec 26 '18 at 17:42
maveric
67611
67611
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The sequence $a_nbmod 4$ is eventually periodic with a readily determined period ...
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Hint $ $ There are $j<k$ with $,(a_j,a_{j+1})equiv (a_k,a_{k+1}),pmod{!4} $ since there are only finitely many such pairs $!bmod {!4}$. The recurrence depends only on the pair of prior values so this leads to cyclic behavior.
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
add a comment |
Questions regarding divisibility in general are often a lot easier to tackle using modulaic algebra since we don't care about precisely what values the numbers will assume. In case you don't know what the modulo k operator is, it is basically the remainder that you get after you divide a number by k. If a number is divisible by k, so in our case 4, then it is zero in mod 4 since there is no rest.
So in this case we can translate the first values that you got into mod 4 as follows: 1,1,2,3,3,2 ... Now let's multiply a number in mod 2 by a number in mod 3. These numbers can be written as a=(4c+2) and b=(4d+3), so the result of their multiplication is 4d+6. However, we should add an extra one in the sequence, which will give us 4d+7. As you can verify, this number is indeed 3 in mod 4. Whenever we multiply two numbers that are 3 in mod 4, the next number in the sequence will be 2.
Therefore we can conjecture that no element in the entire sequence will be divisible by 4 since each one of them will be either 2 or 3 in mod 4.
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
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active
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votes
The sequence $a_nbmod 4$ is eventually periodic with a readily determined period ...
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The sequence $a_nbmod 4$ is eventually periodic with a readily determined period ...
add a comment |
The sequence $a_nbmod 4$ is eventually periodic with a readily determined period ...
The sequence $a_nbmod 4$ is eventually periodic with a readily determined period ...
edited Dec 26 '18 at 17:49
answered Dec 26 '18 at 17:44
Hagen von Eitzen
276k21269496
276k21269496
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Hint $ $ There are $j<k$ with $,(a_j,a_{j+1})equiv (a_k,a_{k+1}),pmod{!4} $ since there are only finitely many such pairs $!bmod {!4}$. The recurrence depends only on the pair of prior values so this leads to cyclic behavior.
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
add a comment |
Hint $ $ There are $j<k$ with $,(a_j,a_{j+1})equiv (a_k,a_{k+1}),pmod{!4} $ since there are only finitely many such pairs $!bmod {!4}$. The recurrence depends only on the pair of prior values so this leads to cyclic behavior.
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
add a comment |
Hint $ $ There are $j<k$ with $,(a_j,a_{j+1})equiv (a_k,a_{k+1}),pmod{!4} $ since there are only finitely many such pairs $!bmod {!4}$. The recurrence depends only on the pair of prior values so this leads to cyclic behavior.
Hint $ $ There are $j<k$ with $,(a_j,a_{j+1})equiv (a_k,a_{k+1}),pmod{!4} $ since there are only finitely many such pairs $!bmod {!4}$. The recurrence depends only on the pair of prior values so this leads to cyclic behavior.
answered Dec 26 '18 at 18:39
Bill Dubuque
208k29190628
208k29190628
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
add a comment |
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
For more on this idea see my posts on reinventing the wheel (cycle)
– Bill Dubuque
Dec 26 '18 at 18:42
add a comment |
Questions regarding divisibility in general are often a lot easier to tackle using modulaic algebra since we don't care about precisely what values the numbers will assume. In case you don't know what the modulo k operator is, it is basically the remainder that you get after you divide a number by k. If a number is divisible by k, so in our case 4, then it is zero in mod 4 since there is no rest.
So in this case we can translate the first values that you got into mod 4 as follows: 1,1,2,3,3,2 ... Now let's multiply a number in mod 2 by a number in mod 3. These numbers can be written as a=(4c+2) and b=(4d+3), so the result of their multiplication is 4d+6. However, we should add an extra one in the sequence, which will give us 4d+7. As you can verify, this number is indeed 3 in mod 4. Whenever we multiply two numbers that are 3 in mod 4, the next number in the sequence will be 2.
Therefore we can conjecture that no element in the entire sequence will be divisible by 4 since each one of them will be either 2 or 3 in mod 4.
New contributor
add a comment |
Questions regarding divisibility in general are often a lot easier to tackle using modulaic algebra since we don't care about precisely what values the numbers will assume. In case you don't know what the modulo k operator is, it is basically the remainder that you get after you divide a number by k. If a number is divisible by k, so in our case 4, then it is zero in mod 4 since there is no rest.
So in this case we can translate the first values that you got into mod 4 as follows: 1,1,2,3,3,2 ... Now let's multiply a number in mod 2 by a number in mod 3. These numbers can be written as a=(4c+2) and b=(4d+3), so the result of their multiplication is 4d+6. However, we should add an extra one in the sequence, which will give us 4d+7. As you can verify, this number is indeed 3 in mod 4. Whenever we multiply two numbers that are 3 in mod 4, the next number in the sequence will be 2.
Therefore we can conjecture that no element in the entire sequence will be divisible by 4 since each one of them will be either 2 or 3 in mod 4.
New contributor
add a comment |
Questions regarding divisibility in general are often a lot easier to tackle using modulaic algebra since we don't care about precisely what values the numbers will assume. In case you don't know what the modulo k operator is, it is basically the remainder that you get after you divide a number by k. If a number is divisible by k, so in our case 4, then it is zero in mod 4 since there is no rest.
So in this case we can translate the first values that you got into mod 4 as follows: 1,1,2,3,3,2 ... Now let's multiply a number in mod 2 by a number in mod 3. These numbers can be written as a=(4c+2) and b=(4d+3), so the result of their multiplication is 4d+6. However, we should add an extra one in the sequence, which will give us 4d+7. As you can verify, this number is indeed 3 in mod 4. Whenever we multiply two numbers that are 3 in mod 4, the next number in the sequence will be 2.
Therefore we can conjecture that no element in the entire sequence will be divisible by 4 since each one of them will be either 2 or 3 in mod 4.
New contributor
Questions regarding divisibility in general are often a lot easier to tackle using modulaic algebra since we don't care about precisely what values the numbers will assume. In case you don't know what the modulo k operator is, it is basically the remainder that you get after you divide a number by k. If a number is divisible by k, so in our case 4, then it is zero in mod 4 since there is no rest.
So in this case we can translate the first values that you got into mod 4 as follows: 1,1,2,3,3,2 ... Now let's multiply a number in mod 2 by a number in mod 3. These numbers can be written as a=(4c+2) and b=(4d+3), so the result of their multiplication is 4d+6. However, we should add an extra one in the sequence, which will give us 4d+7. As you can verify, this number is indeed 3 in mod 4. Whenever we multiply two numbers that are 3 in mod 4, the next number in the sequence will be 2.
Therefore we can conjecture that no element in the entire sequence will be divisible by 4 since each one of them will be either 2 or 3 in mod 4.
New contributor
New contributor
answered Dec 26 '18 at 18:13
tyler1
92
92
New contributor
New contributor
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